Logitech F710 Gamepad Review

Hello everyone, this is my first review EVER so feel free to criticize it.

Got a Logitech F710 for only $24.99 new from Amazon (I checked the price now and it's back up to $44.99, I must've gotten a fluke order). It says on the packaging that it works for Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. It does work with Mac OSX, but you need to use a 3rd party application like GamePad Companion to map the controls onto the keyboard. It comes with a small CD (like the ones that came with the original R4 for mapping out controls for a DirectInput game).

My initial thoughts were that the controller is solidly built, a bit heavy, and some buttons are too clicky for my personal taste. It has the standard 4 face buttons (A, B, X, Y), 2 analog sticks, 8-way floating D-pad, 4 trigger buttons (LB, LT, RB, RT), vibration/mode buttons, start/back buttons, and this weird Logitech button in the middle. On the back of the controller in the middle of the trigger buttons is a 2-way switch for DirectInput and XInput games. I'm not familiar with the modes, but I believe DirectInput is for older games that don't support native gamepad and you can't use vibration feedback. The XInput mode is for games that support the gamepad without any additonal programming or configurations.

Since this is a wireless controller, it runs on 2 AA batteries and through a dongle that you plug into a USB port. I haven't tested the range yet, but the box says it's able to support a connection of up to 20'. And if that's not long enough, there's an included USB cable extension provided.

Played around with it for about 30 minutes using it to play Spiral Knights on Steam. Controller worked pretty good, as I didn't notice an issue with dead zones. Also played Banjo and Kazooie on SixtyForce, and the controls mapped out just fine. Although I didn't get to test the vibration feedback (I was using DirectInput), I could push the button and feel it on the controller. It's actually quite strong and matches that of a PS3 controller.

Comments

Great review! Been looking for a wireless joypad, though $45 would push it out of my budget. Mind if I ask how the delay is? I'm sort of picky about that type of thing, dead zones, not so much.

I know this will sound bad as a tip, but even if you forget something or got something wrong, don't say it explicitly. Either revise it later (ideal), ignore it, or deny it (not ideal). As a reviewer, you want to have some sort of authority, and missing something only undermines it. To show some authority in your writing, confidence is good, but even a tiny bit of arrogance will work.

Great review! Been looking for a wireless joypad, though $45 would push it out of my budget. Mind if I ask how the delay is? I'm sort of picky about that type of thing, dead zones, not so much.

I know this will sound bad as a tip, but even if you forget something or got something wrong, don't say it explicitly. Either revise it later (ideal), ignore it, or deny it (not ideal). As a reviewer, you want to have some sort of authority, and missing something only undermines it. To show some authority in your writing, confidence is good, but even a tiny bit of arrogance will work.

Thanks, PV, good to hear some feedback! I ordered it from Amazon when it was out of stock so maybe that's why the price was just $24.99? It got added to my order 2 days after I added it to my shopping cart though. As for the delay, I noticed almost none. Spiral Knights is intense because I was on a solo mission by myself and was swarmed by 8 enemies at once, and never experienced lag between me pushing the button and seeing the action on screen.

I'll revise this review so I don't leave out pictures. As for the photo quality, how do you think it is? I took them from my friend's DSi because I thought it'd turn out better than using the webcam on my MacBook.

And really random but howcome I have 7 tags on this post? I thought the max was 5 but for some reason my last 2 tags from when I made a blog post still appear. Is there any way you could delete those 2 extra because it won't let me edit the tags.

I didn't even know how to add the full size image to this....I just clicked on the insert image button and uploaded each file. Surprised at the resolution the DSi has though, it said when I uploaded the images that they were in 640 x 480. That's like around 1 megapixel I believe isn't it?

Hmmm, I still can't manage to edit my tag cloud. I only see an option to edit what blog category this belongs to.